Micah Richards has revealed he is stranded on holiday after being diagnosed with swine flu.

The Manchester City defender has told The Sun newspaper he has been confined to his hotel room in Cyprus after being told he cannot fly back to the UK until he has fully recovered.

Micah Richards

“At first I thought it was a really bad chest infection, or maybe alcohol poisoning. I felt so weak that I couldn’t move or eat. My friends had to bring me drinks in bed,” he told The Sun. “When I was told I had swine flu all sorts of things started going through my mind. You see on the news people dying of it.”

The 21-year-old went on the holiday after helping England reach the final of the Under-21 Championships in Sweden.

He added: “My club have been very understanding. I’ll get some stick from the lads when I do return – they will probably all turn up to training in surgical masks.”